HOW THE SOLDIER REPAIRS THE GRAMOPHONE

New York City, NY: Grove Press, 2008. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Grove Press, 2008. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 345 pages. The author's breakthrough debut novel. One of the most sensational literary debuts of our time. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. Presents Sasa Stanisic's "Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert" in a definitive English translation by the late great Anthea Bell. His magnificent first novel: Finalist for the German Book Prize and a global publishing sensation. Bosnian by birth, Stanisic writes exclusively in German. His historical novel is profoundly autobiographical, endowing "life in Visegrad, Bosnia-Herzegovina with a mythic quality and a kaleidoscopic brilliance. Though Aleksandar ('Aleks') and his family flee to Germany, he is haunted by his past, and especially by Asija, the mysterious girl he tried to save. Desperate to learn of her fate, he sends manic, anguished letters out into the abyss, again turning to language to conjure up all that he has had to forfeit: His homeland, his mother tongue, his innocence. Beneath the infectious vibrancy of Stanisic's voice is a sweetness and pathos that will haunt the reader long after the book ends. Captures the catastrophe of war through a child's eyes and shows how words have the ability to mend what is broken and resurrect what is lost" (Publisher's blurb) . "The most valuable gift of all is invention; imagination is our greatest wealth" (Sasa Stanisic) . Together with Sara Novic's debut, "Girl At War" (2015) , Stanisic re-imagines the tragedy of the Balkan civil war in haunting, unforgettable prose for our time. And he can't let go, not yet at any rate: His new novel, "Herkunft" - "Where You Come From", in Damion Searls' brilliant translation - revisits his debut novel's themes and (finally) won the German Book Prize in 2019. The latter title's First British Edition, which is a hardcover original - the American is a softcover only - comes with this copy. An absolute "must-have" title for Sasa Stanisic collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen on the title page by Sasa Stanisic. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It comes with a copy of First British Edition of "Where You Come From", his sequel-novel, which is a hardcover original (the American is a softcover only) . This title is a great book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Finalist for the German Book Prize in 2006 for "How The Soldier Repairs The Gramophone". Winner of the German Book Prize in 2019 for "Where You Come From". One of the most brilliant writers of our time. A fine set. (SEE ALSO SARA NOVIC TITLE IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0802118666.